Henry Ford Autobiography
1920265171
Henry Ford and Samuel Crowther
Notes
It does not pay to hurry.
In March, 1902, I resigned, determined never again to put myself under orders…If a man lives in fear of an employer’s favor changing toward him, he ought to extricate himself from dependence on any employer. He can become his own boss. It may be that he will be a poorer boss than the one he leaves, and that his returns will be much less, but at least he will have rid himself of the shadow of his pet fear, and that is worth a great deal in money and position.
My idea was then and still is that if a man did his work well, the price he would get for that work, the profits and all financial matters, would care for themselves and that a business ought to start small and build itself up and out of its earnings. If there are no earnings then that is a signal to the owner that he is wasting his time and does not belong in that business.
The man who keeps brain office hours limits his horsepower.
If a device would save in time just 10 percent – or increase results 10 percent – then its absence is always a 10 per cent. tax…You are not “saving” when you prevent yourself from becoming more productive.
We have most unfortunately found it necessary to get rid of a man as soon as he thinks himself an expert – because no one ever considers himself expert if he really knows his job…the vast majority of men want to stay put. They want to be led. They want to have everything done for them and to have no responsibility. Therefore, in spite of the great mass of men, the difficulty is not to discover men to advance, but men who are willing to be advanced.
The cleanliness of a man’s machine also – although cleaning a machine is no part of his duty – is usually an indication of his intelligence.
To teach a child to invest and use is better than to teach him to save.
Any man is educated who knows where to get knowledge when he needs it, and how to organize that knowledge into definite plans of action.
…habit of reaching decisions quickly and definitely, and changing them slowly.